1. 50th Anniversary: Fair Housing Act & Housing Rights Center's Fight against HOUSING Discrimination in L.A.
Chancela Al-Mansour
Executive Director, Housing Rights Center
Public Legal Services Fair
Los Angeles Law Library
October 27, 2018

2. Nation’s largest non-profit civil rights organization dedicated to securing and promoting fair housing
HRC was founded in 1968, the same year Congress passed the Fair Housing Act
Over the past ten years, HRC has assisted more than 250,000 residents throughout Los Angeles and Ventura Counties
Languages: English, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Armenian, Russian and American Sign Language (ASL)

3. Fair Housing Enforcement
Programs & Services
Counseling & Outreach
Fair Housing Enforcement
Discrimination Complaint Investigation
Litigation & Advocacy
Landlord-Tenant Counseling
Outreach & Public Education
Free monthly rental listing

4. Federal Laws 11866 1964 1973 1975 1968 1 1988 First Civil Rights Act
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of
1973
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
1975
Age
Discrimination
Act
1968
Federal Fair Housing Act (FHA)
1 1988
Fair Housing Amendment Act (FHAA)
©2018

5. California Laws 1959 1963 1968 1980 1994 Unruh Civil Rights Act
Rumford Fair Housing Act
1964: Proposition 14
1967: Reitman v. Mulkey (U.S. Supreme Court)
1968
Disabled Persons Act
1980
Fair Housing and Employment Act (FEHA)
1994
Made substantially equivalent with Federal Fair Housing Laws
©2018

6. California Protected Classes
Marital Status
Sexual Orientation
Age
Ancestry
Medical Condition
Genetic Information
Gender
Gender Identity
Gender Expression
Source of Income
Citizenship
Primary Language
Immigration Status
Other California Protections:
Arbitrary Discrimination
Perception
Association
©2018

10. Fair Housing Laws Apply to:
Housing Transactions
Renting
Buying
Lending
Prospective home seekers
Residential Dwellings
Apartments
Condos
Houses
Duplexes
Residential Motels
Transitional Shelters
Mobilehome Parks
Vacant Lots

11. Sorry, nothing is available.
Prohibited practices
Refusal to sell or rent housing
Discrimination based on association
Refusal to negotiate for the sale or rental of housing
Threats, intimidation, harassment
Saying that housing is unavailable when it actually is available
Steering
Discriminatory statements or advertising
Applying different terms or rules
Refusal to grant a reasonable accommodation and/or modification for a person with a disability.
Otherwise making housing unavailable
Sorry, nothing is available.

12. Common Reasonable Accommodations & Modifications
Changing rent due date
Service and companion/therapy animals
Parking space
Transfer units
Ending tenancy early or extending vacate date
Live-in caregivers
Repair elevator in operable condition
Rescind notice to terminate tenancy/dismiss UD
Modifications
Wheelchair ramp
Grab bars in bathroom
Lowering countertops
Carpet removal

13. Gentrification/Displacement - how we Got here
1. Government mandated segregation - yes, even in Los Angeles
2. Restrictive Covenants
3. Predatory Lending
4. Redlining: U.S. backed private lending only to non redlined neighborhoods which were Anglo-Saxon Caucasian. Home improvement loans also only went to those neighborhoods. This led to the dilapidation and blight in black and brown neighborhoods which were often in urban areas near downtowns. Created under valued housing prices. The following maps show how the actions of the U.S. government created the displacement that many of our communities are experiencing today - in addition to the overwhelming disparity of wealth between white and black/brown households.
5. Discrimination in Rental Housing

17. Contact HRC!
PLEASE CALL (800) OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE
hrc_la
Housing Rights Center